By Aberdeen Insider - July 9, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
JUNE 30, 2026
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
Meeting called to order by Chairman Sutton at 8:45 A.M. in the Commission Chambers, Courthouse Annex, Brown County, SD. Present were Commissioners Dennert, Dinger, Gage, Sutton and Wiese. Auditor Heupel led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
RICHMOND DAM UPDATE: Chairman Sutton stated that he didn’t have any updates from Commissioner Greenfield, but they had 2 feet left to pump before they were at the level needed for the next step in the construction process. It was going down about 6 inches per day.
ORDINANCE #325 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to adopt Ordinance #325. Applicant James Arneson to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring these parcels into compliance for their current use. Description of property: Proposed Lots 1 & 2, “Arneson Addition” in the NE1/4 of Section 35-T126N-R64W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (11715 387th Avenue; Oneota Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #326 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to adopt Ordinance #326. Applicants Katherine Osterman/Eric Olson to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring this parcel into compliance for its current use. Description of property: “Johnson’s Outlot 1” in the SW1/4 of Section 15-T123N-R61W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (40310 133rd Street, Henry Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #327 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dinger to adopt Ordinance #327. Applicant TC Wright Trust to rezone from Heavy Industrial District (H-I) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring this parcel into compliance for its current use. Description of property: Proposed Lot 2, “Specialty-Wright Addition” in the W1/2 of Section 8-T123N-R62W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (13146 395th Avenue; Bath Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SD GAME FISH & PARKS HUNTING ACCESS & HABITAT CONTRACT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Hunting Access & Habitat Contract with SD Division of Wildlife Game, Fish & Parks Department for access on 102 acres for 1 year from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
GOODSHRED AGREEMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the quote and agreement with GoodShred at the cost of $32.75 per 96 gallon container and $24.75 per 32’ console. Commissioner Dinger asked Randy Zens, Building Superintendent, to explain the service. Randy shared that bins will be in each office, locked and we call when they are full for them to pick them up. They turn the shred back into paper, so doesn’t go to the Landfill. GoodShred is also insured and bonded as well. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SURPLUS ITEMS FROM AUDITOR & TREASURER: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve to surplus the following items to sell on Public Surplus: Martin Yale 1611 Folding Machine; Martin Yale Model 62001 High Speed Letter Opener from Auditor and Treasurer, along with 13 Samsonite Briefcases from the Auditor’s Office. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the General Meeting Minutes of June 23, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims/Payroll. Claims: Professional Fees: CenturyLink-Lumen $222.88; CGI, LLC $150.00; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $3,318.40; Election Systems & Software $1,359.14; Horn Law Office Prof LLC $768.60; IMEG Corp $26,403.06; ISI, LLC $130.00; John Noyes – Bantz, Gosch & Cremer $1,184.77; Kylee Boomsma $4,343.95; Sara Zahn $86.80; SDJPS $400.00; SDSU Extension $65.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $141.95; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $144.04; South Dakota Magazine $395.25. Rentals: Advantage Self Storage $276.00; Dakota Electronics LLC $241.00. Repairs & Maintenance: Dakota Doors Inc $354.01; Dakota Pump LLC $924.75; Dependable Sanitation, Inc $387.00; Fastcase Inc $528.00; Gary Fischer $725.00; House of Glass $906.37; Interstate Powersystems $1,115.00; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $2,340.42; Kramp Enterprise and Investment $1,530.69; Leidholt Electric, LLC $361.82; Mack’s Auto, Inc $170.00; Parkview Nursery $274.18; Pheasantland Industries $67.03; Quality Welding, Inc $60.00; Schwan Welding $1,381.80; Thee Glass Doktor, LLC $67.50; Trav’s Outfitter Inc $304.99; Vosika Fencing $2,041.00. Supplies & Materials: Abrianna Holler $100.00; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $2,067.26; Century Business Products $5,573.85; Dakota Doors Inc $196.80; Election Systems & Software $33.20; Geffdog Designs $20.00; Jebro Inc $118,560.59; Jense Rock & Sand Inc $32,932.80; JGE, Inc $118.76; Lar-Jo’s Specialties $1,020.00; Leidholdt Tool Sales, LLC $56.65; Lien Transportation Company $1,126.25; Matthew Bender & Co., Inc $475.59; Maximum Promotions Inc $272.77; Menards $219.46; Midstates Group $161.50; Myers Tire Supply Distribution, Inc. $1,105.61; PastPerfect Software, Inc $432.00; Performance Oil $133.27; Pheasantland Industries $2,110.00; Premier Southern Ticket $936.06; Quality Welding, Inc $10.00; Reliable Tent and Awning $3,885.73; Rixstine Recognition $1,533.12; Sherwin Williams $590.31; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $33.25; TYR Tactical, LLC $1,470.37. Travel & Conference: CGI, LLC $1.44; GovExec Holdings, LLC $1,500.00; Holiday Inn City Centre Sioux Falls $1,430.00; Joe Kretchman $19.00; Kyle Couchey $19.00; Neil Bittner $19.00. Utilities: Dependable Sanitation, Inc $322.00; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co $41.02; Northwestern Energy $7,362.58; T-Mobile USA Inc $1,302.48.
Payroll: Commission $5,165.81; Elections $3,790.40; Auditor/Welfare $11,193.66; Treasurer $18,252.48; SA $38,966.18; Public Defender $14,449.33; Maintenance $13,888.55; Assessor $17,506.94; Register of Deeds $12,500.05; VSO $5,259.85; GIS $3,110.76; IT $10,616.94; HR $5,721.14; Sheriff $80,091.99; Jail $83,640.98; Coroner (Voucher) $1,000.00; Court Security $8,961.09; JDC $36,349.97; Museum $16,234.32; Parks/Fairgrounds $10,323.03; Fair Board $5,593.65; 4-H $1,616.87; Weed $6,513.93; Planning & Zoning $10,201.16; Highway $58,690.77; Dispatch $39,571.47; Emergency $5,805.33; 24/7 Sobriety $2,978.35; Landfill $17,716.83; Meal Benefits $114.00; Tips $1,007.00; FICA $32,632.04; Medicare $7,631.68; HSA $4,782.39; Health Insurance-Wellmark BCBS $170,117.20; Dental Insurance-Delta $15,009.98; Life Insurance-Dearborn $2,480.36. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Resignation of Christopher Klingensmith, Jr. as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; effective June 24, 2026. Request to fill.
- Last day for Shannon Northrop as Temporary Bartender; effective June 22, 2026.
- Hiring of Cheryl Kolb as Brown County Building & Grounds Maintenance Worker; FT, starting wage $21.50/hr. – effective July 6, 2026.
- Hiring of Mackenzie Berninghaus as Brown County Deputy Treasurer; FT, starting wage $21.50/hr. – effective July 6, 2026.
- Promotion of Taylor Harmon from Brown County Jail Senior Detention Officer to Brown County Jail Sergeant, starting wage $27.52/hr. – effective June 7, 2026.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Travel Requests: Josh Matthews, Highway Department to attend Cat Blade Demo; Scott Bader, Planning & Zoning Director to attend Managing Floodplain Development through the NFIP – SD Office of Emergency Mgmt. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR MAY 2026: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to approve the Auditor’s Report of Account for May 2026: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances: $28,505,036.25; Total Savings Account Balances: $1,275,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $13,332,942.60; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $43,121,126.27. General Fund $21,999,428.31; Road & Bridge Fund $3,236,857.19; 911 Service $524,622.88; Emergency & Disaster $185,878.82; Domestic Abuse $941.48; SA Grants $181,482.95; 24/7 Sobriety $59,376.46; ROD M&P $70,971.52; Opioid Settlement Fund $43,727.40; Rural Access Infrastructure $376,393.85; Tif Debt Service $513,869.81; Landfill + cash change $8,585,053.36; Landfill – restricted $1,894,496.05; Trust and Agency Funds $7,342,522.24; GRAND TOTAL GENERAL FUND CASH AND INVESTMENTS $43,121,126.27. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LEASE AGREEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the following lease agreements: 164th Infantry Remembrance Association to lease Richmond Lake Youth Camp on Sept. 25-27, 2026; Denise Dutenhoffer to lease Akkerman Open Horse Arena on Sept. 12, 2026 for 3rd Annual I See Spots ApHC Show; Buntrock Auction Services to lease Holum Expo Building on July 16-18, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Chairman Sutton informed the Board that he received a call regarding a Tax Deed Property that we sold south of Groton, that is becoming a haven for Racoons and Skunks so wondering what can be done about it. Scott Bader, Planning & Zoning Director, said he would address it.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Contracts. All member present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:21 A.M. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on July 9, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $108.24 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com